Sharpshooter McNamee ready to take his shot at Leinster glory

NIALL McNAMEE would never have believed that two weeks could take so long to pass.

Until now, that is. Though only 20, the Rhode corner-forward has displayed a maturity beyond his years in kicking 2-12 in Offaly’s three championship matches of 2006.

It’s only when he finds himself thinking ahead to tomorrow’s Leinster final appointment against Dublin that this most laid-back of youngsters finally shows some signs that he can, on occasion, betray the impetuosity of youth. Oh, for throw-in to be right here, right now.

It’s not like he can try to forget about it either. Every time he walks down the street he meets a well-wisher eager to engage with one of the county’s biggest hopes.

By now, he will have shaken more hands than Bertie Ahern.

Fleeing indoors provides no release. Since graduating from UCD, his weeks are being filled working as a mortgage advisor for Sky Blue Mortgages in Portarlington on the Laois-Offaly border.

Typically in a border town separated by a river but little else, McNamee’s two bosses owe their allegiances to the rival counties. Mark Plunkett is from Offaly and was a senior selector under former manager Gerry Fahy, whereas Aidan Kelly hails from the blue side of the divide.

With Laois having just dumped the All-Ireland champions out of the championship and Offaly 70 minutes from a provincial title, the craic in the office has been better than ever.

Clocking off brings little respite either. With his 24-year-old brother Alan starting in midfield tomorrow afternoon, the McNamees have been fielding twice the number of good luck messages.

“It’s nearly too hard to block it out at this stage because everyone you meet on the streets is talking to you about it,” says McNamee. “I’m kind of excited about it. It’s my first Leinster final and I just want to get out there and play. I don’t think nerves come into it. I just wish it was Sunday already and the week could be over so we could get out there and get on with it.”

The first five to 10 minutes will probably tell us all we need to know about Offaly. Though the county traditionally moulds teams that thrive on pressure and rail against unfavourable odds, the current crop have yet to pass that particular initiation test.

Only two of the starting 15 — goalkeeper Padraig Kelly and Ciaran McManus — have followed the Artane Boys Band around the Croke Park pitch on as big a day as this before. Who can tell how they will fare? In a line-up light on experience, corner-back Nigel Grennan is greener than most. Prior to their opening game against Westmeath back in May, the Ballycumber lad had never donned the Offaly colours in a championship match.

His report card to date could be termed satisfactory, with PJ Ward and Tadhg Fennin snaffling two points apiece off him from open play before Wexford’s Liam Murphy was kept scoreless in the semi-final.

THE toughest questions have still be answered though, and they start tomorrow when Alan Brogan trots over to his corner to keep him company for the afternoon. If the thought worries him, it certainly doesn’t show.

“You try and keep relaxed and calm. I’m usually calm before matches anyway. I’ll try and turn the nerves into energy before a game. I’ll just approach it in my normal way. It’s not a day for trying anything new. Just do your normal thing before a game.”

On paper, Grennan versus Brogan would be one of the numerous head-to-heads where Offaly would lose out. Match any individual together with his marker and, more often than not, the result is a household name with an unfamiliar face — in Dublin’s favour.

Brogan is the darling of Hill 16, has an endorsement deal with adidas and plays with Leinster. Grennan was never even picked for his county’s minor side and thought his chance to play senior had passed him by until Gerry Fahy called him for a qualifier defeat in Wexford two years ago.

Brogan it was who was expected to spearhead the Dublin attack this summer but, despite scoring a brace of points in both matches his game has yet to fall into place. Grennan sees the good and the bad in that though.

“He’s due a big performance,” he points out. “He starts in the corner and usually comes out around the centre forward area. I’ll just have to stick with him, do the best I can.

“It’s man for man Sunday. We’ll be sticking with them.”

Few have stuck to teams more tenaciously than Offaly down the years and the signs are that they have gone a long way to rebuilding that formidable spirit and club-like atmosphere that served them so well before.

McNamee talks about how the core of the team has remained constant for the last number of years, with late additions like Grennan fusing seamlessly into the unit rather than disturbing its equilibrium.

“This year, more so than any other, I think Offaly are playing more like a club side than ever before,” McNamee explains. “I know it’s great having players from your own club on the team but that’s what Offaly feels like as well. The same lads have been here for the last two years and everyone is on the same wavelength.

“That’s helping us in the forward line especially because everyone is clued in to where the ball is going and what runs are being made. Moreso than any other year, there’s definitely more of a bond.”